Simone Couderc (3 June 1911 – 16 November 2005) was a French operatic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

She was particularly well-known in the major roles of the mezzo-soprano repertoire: Amneris ('' Aida''), Dalila ('' Samson and Dalila''), Orphée (''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

''), Kundry ('' Parsifal''),

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

, Santuzza ('' Cavalleria rusticana''), Baba la turque ('' The Rake's Progress''), the mother (''

Louise Louise or Luise may refer to: * Louise (given name) Arts Songs * "Louise" (Bonnie Tyler song), 2005 * "Louise" (The Human League song), 1984 * "Louise" (Jett Rebel song), 2013 * "Louise" (Maurice Chevalier song), 1929 *"Louise", by Clan of ...

''), etc.

Biography

Born in

Cruzy Cruzy (; Languedocien: ''Crusi'') is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. The mezzo-soprano Simone Couderc was born in Cruzy on 3 June 1911. Population See also *Communes of the Hérault department The following is ...

(Hérault), her family settled in

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

, and she enrolled at the

École supérieure d'art et design Le Havre-Rouen The École supérieure d'art et design Le Havre-Rouen is a public school of art and design established in two of the main cities of Normandy, Rouen and Le Havre. History Rouen art school was funded by painter Jean-Baptiste Descamps in 1741, a ...

to attend courses in painting, sculpture and drawing, but by chance

Reynaldo Hahn Reynaldo Hahn (; 9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer, conductor, music critic, and singer. He is best known for his songs – ''mélodies'' – of which he wrote more than 100. Hahn was born in Caracas b ...

heard her as she sang in a church. The composer advised her to take singing lessons. Couderc enrolled at the in

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

Henri Saint-CricqHenri Saint-Cricq
on BnF's class. After obtaining her

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

, she joined the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

Suzanne Cesbron-Viseur Suzanne Catherine Cesbron-Viseur (24 May 1879 – 23 August 1967) was a French soprano and singing teacher. Life Born in the 17th arrondissement of Paris, Cesbron was the daughter of painter . She studied singing at the Conservatoire de Paris ...

's class. She first joined the chorus of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

, where she was also given a few small roles as in Fauré's ''

Pénélope ''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's ''Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicated to ...

''. She left the Paris Opera and began a solo career in her own right. During the 1944-1945 season she sang ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel ''The S ...

'' (Charlotte), with

José Luccioni José Luccioni (14 October 1903 in Bastia – 5 October 1978 in Marseille) was a French operatic tenor of Corsican origin. He possessed one of the best dramatic voices of the 1930s and 1940s. Initially a racing car driver and mechanic at th ...

and Margared in '' Le Roi d'Ys'' beside her former Professor Saint-Cricq at the Nice Opera. In French theatres she achieved success as Dalila, Orpheus, Azucena ('' Il trovatore''), Léonore ('' La Favorite''), Vénus ('' Lohengrin''), etc. Often compared to the Italian mezzo

Ebe Stignani Ebe Stignani (10 July 1903 – 5 October 1974) was an Italian opera singer, who was pre-eminent in the dramatic mezzo-soprano roles of the Italian repertoire during a stage career of more than thirty years. Career Born in Naples in 1903 (some so ...

for the range of her voice (from do² to counter-D), she performed all over the world: at

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

of Buenos Aires, in Belgium, Athens, Algiers and Oran, Switzerland, Copenhagen, etc. Retired from the stage in 1976, she devoted herself to teaching. She was married to critic and writer Stéphane Wolff. Couderc died in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

16 November 2005.

Discography

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', whi ...

Jules Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are '' Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther' ...

: ''Mélodies'' - Pléiade (45 tours) * Donizetti's '' La Favorite'' (Léonore), with

Guy Fouché Guy Fouché (17 June 1921 – 28 May 1998) was a French operatic tenor. Life Born in Bordeaux, Fouché graduated from the Conservatoire de Bordeaux with the First Prize in Opera and opéra comique. He began his career at the Grand Théâtr ...

Charles-Antoine Cambon Charles-Antoine Cambon (21 April 1802 – 22 October 1875) was a French scenographer, theatrical production designer, who acquired international renown in the Romantic Era. Career Little biographical information exists on Cambon's early year ...

- Pléiade (33 rpm) * Franck's ''

Les Béatitudes ''Les Béatitudes'', (Op. 25), CFF 185, FWV 53,The work was never published with an Opus number. is a French oratorio written by César Franck from 1869 to 1879 and scored for orchestra, chorus, and soloists. The text is a poetic meditation on th ...

'' (the Virgin), with Denise Monteil,

Xavier Depraz Xavier Depraz, ''né'' Xavier Marcel Delaruelle (22 April 1926 – 18 October 1994) was a French opera singer and actor. Life Born in Albert ( Somme), Depraz was a bass at the Paris Opéra until 1971. He took part in the premieres of operas by ...

, Pierre Cochereau (dir.) - CL 340 6 (2CDs) * Meyerbeer's ''

Les Huguenots () is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...

'' (Urbain), with

Renée Doria Renée Doria (13 February 1921 – 6 March 2021) was a French opera singer, one of the leading lyric coloratura sopranos of her era in France. Biography Born Renée Dumazert in Perpignan, France, after a thorough musical training (piano, solfeg ...

, Jeanne Rinella,

Henri Médus Henri Médus (21 October 1904 – 11 November 1985) was a French operatic bass. A member of the troupe of the Opéra Garnier from 1933, he distinguished himself particularly in the roles of : ''The Magic Flute'' (Sarastro), ''Samson et Dalila' ...

, Adrien Legros, Jean Allain (dir.) - Pléiade /86 (33 rpm) - Recorded in 1953 at the Théâtre de l'Apollo. * Verdi's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'' (Emilia), with

Régine Crespin Régine Crespin (23 February 1927 – 5 July 2007) was a French singer who had a major international career in opera and on the concert stage between 1950 and 1989. She started her career singing roles in the dramatic soprano and spinto soprano ...

René Bianco René Bianco (21 June 1908 – 23 January 2008) was a French operatic baritone who performed at the Opéra Comique and the Paris Opera in a wide variety of leading roles.Zisman, Marc (29 January 2008"Disparition de René Bianco, Le baryton f ...

Georges Sébastian Georges Sébastian (Budapest, August 17, 1903; April 12, 1989, La Hauteville) was a French conductor of Hungarian birth, particularly associated with Wagner and the post-romantic repertory (Bruckner, Mahler, Richard Strauss). Born György Sebes ...

conducting - ''live'' Opéra de Paris, 1955 - Malibran Music CDRG 186 (2CD) * Albert Wolff /

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

: ''Poèmes intimes, Répit'' - Mercury MPL 7073. Prix d'honneur de l'Académie du disque français * Airs d'opéras français et mélodies espagnoles - Malibran Music MR 598 * ''Les Plus Belles Pages de l'opéra: La Favorite, Orphée, Carmen, Samson et Dalila'' - Pléiade - 45141 (45 rpm)

Bibliography and sources

* Stéphane Wolff, ''Un demi-siècle d'Opéra-Comique (1900-1950)'', éd. André Bonne, Paris, 1953 * Revue ''Le Guide du concert et du disque'', years 1959-1960 * Revue ''L'Entracte'', years 1960-1961 * Stéphane Wolff, ''L'Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875-1962)'', L'Entracte, Paris, 1962; Rééd. coll. Ressources, Champion-Slatkine, Geneva, 1983 * Jean-Philippe Mousnier, ''Albert Wolff – Eugène Bigot'', series Univers musical, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2001 * Erik Baeck, ''André Cluytens, itinéraire d'un chef d'orchestre'', Mardaga, Wavre, 2009

References

External links

Simone Couderc The great french mezzo (Born in 1911) Habanera Carmen
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Couderc, Simone 1911 births 2005 deaths People from Hérault Conservatoire de Paris alumni French operatic mezzo-sopranos 20th-century French women opera singers